Britain First, once the great white hype of the UK Islamaphobia Industry died an ignoble death today. And to think that just a few years ago they were being lauded as the most dangerous far right group in the UK. And they were dangerous, their ability to manipulate Social media was second to none, their propaganda machine had a reach of millions, at one time they seemed a credible force after the slow demise of the BNP and EDL. But no more.

When a group, even on the back of the latest London terror attack try to march on the propaganda coup it gifthorsed them, and only attract around 150 people, you know that the party is over.

You can even see the desperation as they frantically cram as many flags into people’s hands that they can possibly hold.

Most fitting was that they were given a glimpse into their future by holding the march jointly with the remnants of the once mighty EDL. The same EDL that a few years ago managed to attract 3000 people to a demo in London. Today they could barely muster 30.

EDL lurch in support of Britain First.

Even Tommeh Waxy-Lemon seemed ashamed to be associated with them. And that on the back of his failure to kickstart Pegida UK. His new BFF, the Trust Fund kid behind another failing far right media group must be wondering how he backed another loser.

It cannot be ignored that for years Goldy and Waxy have derided each other on social media, one decrying the other as a thug and criminal, the other as rip off ‘Zionist’ shopkeepers. The very fact they thought that together they could put aside their differences to attract hundreds to a demo highlights just how desperate they both are to retain some relevance. And they both failed, spectacularly.

The old guard of the far right are being eclipsed. Dowson and Griffin have run away to Hungary, desperately trying to exploit the discredited ‘Templar’ imagery to scam funds from gullible Americans. The National Front, the BNP, the EDL are just twitching corpses, deluding themselves that they still have a significance.

Britain First are well set down the same path to obscurity. They will continue to bleat away on Facebook not realising that they have ruined their own lives as they milk what little money they can from their dwindling followers. Not that they will disappear entirely, we will still see them for years to come, aging badly, screaming their inanities at an audience that has long since moved on.

But we cannot become complacent, replacements are standing in the wings, ready and waiting. Liberty GB are backed by money, but so far are struggling to gain support (it does not help that one of their main guys was convicted of race hate crimes). Ukip are bankrupt, led by incompetents and losing support in droves.

Which brings us to who, we believe, is the next far right threat. Arron Banks and his Ukip 2.0, the Patriotic Alliance. Britain First may have been groundbreaking in their social media manipulation, but Banks’s LeaveUK has taken this to a whole new level. The Patriotic Alliance will be connected, it will have the backing of fake news supremo’s Breitbart UK via Raheem Kassam. It already has the formidable social media machinery of LeaveUK. It is connected to Mercer, the American billionaire Hedge Fund owner believed to have used his business Cambridge Analytics to manipulate the Brexit result. And through Mercer it is also connected to Alt-Right, White Supremacist Bannon, Trumps Chief Strategist.

Just what shape the patriotic Alliance will take is yet to be seen. It will be anti-immigrant. It will be Islamaphobic. It will be fascism in a suit and tie. Britain is about to go through its most traumatic time since WW2. Brexit is already making people poorer and if/when it fails…well, these are fertile grounds for fascism to take root.

Everyone’s favorite comedy fascists tried, once again, to prove that they are not racist by attempting to counter protest the annual March Against Racism protest.

Around 20 Britain First members, marched through Picadilly to stand at what they believe to be their usual ground, the Statue of Eros. This time though, they found that some Antifa scamps had already occupied the spot.

Members of HS161 and other Antifa groups hold the Statue of Eros against Britain First

As you can imagine the knuckle draggers were not best pleased at having their plans destroyed. Part Man Part Potato Golding struggled to maintain order, and the pie scarfing lard bucket Steve Lewis was caught on camera assaulting a protestor.

And Golding proved that, deny it as much as he wants, he really is just a racist prick in a cheap suit.

All said, it was a complete disaster for Britain First, and a victory for Antifa.

The Arabic word “jihad” is often translated as “holy war,” but in a purely linguistic sense, the word ” jihad” means struggling or striving.The arabic word for war is: “al-harb”.In a religious sense, as described by the Quran and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (s), “jihad” has many meanings. It can refer to internal as well as external efforts to be a good Muslims or believer, as well as working to inform people about the faith of Islam.If military jihad is required to protect the faith against others, it can be performed using anything from legal, diplomatic and economic to political means. If there is no peaceful alternative, Islam also allows the use of force, but there are strict rules of engagement. Innocents – such as women, children, or invalids – must never be harmed, and any peaceful overtures from the enemy must be accepted.Military action is therefore only one means of jihad, and is very rare. To highlight this point, the Prophet Mohammed told his followers returning from a military campaign: “This day we have returned from the minor jihad to the major jihad,” which he said meant returning from armed battle to the peaceful battle for self-control and betterment.In case military action appears necessary, not everyone can declare jihad. The religious military campaign has to be declared by a proper authority, advised by scholars, who say the religion and people are under threat and violence is imperative to defend them. The concept of “just war” is very important.The concept of jihad has been hijacked by many political and religious groups over the ages in a bid to justify various forms of violence. In most cases, Islamic splinter groups invoked jihad to fight against the established Islamic order. Scholars say this misuse of jihad contradicts Islam.Examples of sanctioned military jihad include the Muslims’ defensive battles against the Crusaders in medieval times, and before that some responses by Muslims against Byzantine and Persian attacks during the period of the early Islamic conquests.

WHAT JIHAD IS NOT:

Jihad is not a violent concept.Jihad is not a declaration of war against other religions. It is worth noting that the Quran specifically refers to Jews and Christians as “people of the book” who should be protected and respected. All three faiths worship the same God. Allah is just the Arabic word for God, and is used by Christian Arabs as well as Muslims.Military action in the name of Islam has not been common in the history of Islam. Scholars says most calls for violent jihad are not sanctioned by Islam.Warfare in the name of God is not unique to Islam. Other faiths throughout the world have waged wars with religious justifications.

“Fake News”…the social media phenomenon of 2017. But what exactly is classed as fake news? How do you spot it? And should we be worried about it?

Fake news websites (also known as hoax news) deliberately publish hoaxes, propaganda, and disinformation purporting to be real news – often using social media pages and accounts to drive web traffic and amplify their effect.The vast majority of these websites are monetized by ads, usually Adsense and other methods (usually by using an accompanying video which is itself monetized on Youtube)

It is important to distinguish between actual fake news sites andnews satire sites,such as the Rochdale Herald, Newsthump etc.

News satire sites, whilst walking a thin line between comedy and fake news, are the polar opposite of a fake news website.

Fake news websites seek to mislead, rather than entertain, readers for financial (not to say that satire sites are not monetized as well), political, or other gain. Such is the perceived threat from these sites that world leaders have felt the need to pronounce about them.

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Wednesday against the power of fake news on social media to spur the rise of populists, after launching her campaign for a fourth term.”Read More Here:

In the UK Labour MP Michael Dugher was assigned by the Labour Party Deputy Leader Thomas Watson in November 2016 to investigate the impact of fake news spread through social media. Watson said they would work with Twitter and Facebook to root out clear-cut circumstances of “downright lies”. in an article for the Independent Watson suggested methods to respond to fake news. Conservative MP, and Minister for Culture Matthew Hancock, stated the British government would investigate the impact of fake news and its pervasiveness on social media websites.

Pressure from the UK, the EU, the USA and other Governments has led to social media giants, Google, Twitter and Facebook promising to tackle fake news on its platforms. Google first updated its policy saying that the company will try to ban sites that “misrepresent, misstate (sic), or conceal information.” Websites who don’t comply with this rule will get banned from using Google AdSense. Facebook, has also updated its policy to rule out fake news sites from using Facebook Audience Network. More:

German politicians want to go a step further than this, Thomas Oppermann, who leads the SPD in Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag,Speaking with “Der Spiegel” magazine, Oppermann said that harsh punitive measures were necessary in order to make social networks

So, Governments and social media sites are making moves to prevent fake news, but just how worried should we be about it? And what effect does it have in the real world?

Fake news can start of innocently enough, a post on Twitter or Facebook. But occasionally these posts can go viral. The New York Time’s noted this particular incident last November (2016).

A simple enough post. Man spots buses lined up and jumps to the conclusion that it was Hilary supporters being ferried in to demonstrate against Trump during the election. The post was by a certain Eric Tucker, and this seemingly innocent mistake fuelled a worldwide conspiracy theory — one that Trump gleefully joined in promoting.

Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!

All of this seems harmless enough, except that even though it was thoroughly debunked, a great many people still believe it to be true.

This is just example of how fake news can accidentally be created. But what happens when fake news is specifically created for more sinister purposes? To try to influence an election? Promote extremist views? vilify an entire race/religion?

Jim Dowson, described by The Times as an “inveterate agitator” and “the invisible man of Britain’s far right”. Dowson himself advocated Britain’s exit from the EU and has expresses admiration for the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. Dowson has made it his mission, according to messages posted on one of his sites, to

“spread devastating anti-Clinton, pro-Trump memes and sound bites into sections of the population too disillusioned with politics to have taken any notice of conventional campaigning,” in the same way that Dowson “made deft use of social media … to promote [his] work and convey an impression of mass following”, according to the New York Times.

Thankfully, it seems that Dowson’s fake new sites have been closed down (but not the mouthpiece of Nick Griffin KTI page). But this is a man who advocates a war against Islam, has links to Russia, the Syrian regime and neo-Nazi paramilitaries throughout Europe (and further).

Even during the 2015 conservative (read Nazi) forum in Russia, Dowson stated:

“We have the ability to take a video from today and put it in half of every single household in the United States of America, where these people can for the first time learn the truth, because their own media tell lies, they tell lies about Russia,” Mr. Dowson said then.

“We have to use popular culture to reach into the living rooms of the youth of America, of Britain, France, Germany, and bring them in,” he said. “Then we can get them the message.” Video

Dowson and his Knights Templar use of fake even prompted an investigation by Channel 4 News for its Fake News Week series 10/02/2017.

Obviously, it is impossible to tell just how much fake news influenced the US election and helped to put the Tangerine Toddler into the most powerful office in the world. But it is potential links to fake news sites and Putin that are the most concerning.

Some analysts see the hallmarks of Russian interests and far-right agitators in Europe and the United States. Alina Polyakova, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan international affairs institute in Washington believes that fake news.

“Messages seep into the mainstream, they may have been extreme or fringe at one point in time, but they have been incredibly influential in shaping people’s views about key geopolitical events in a very specific direction.”

“Moscow specifically encourages and facilitates the spreading of propaganda through proxies”

Even the term Fake News has begun to be abused. Comment after comment on social media news articles from MSM sites states “FAKE NEWS!!!!”; in todays Post Truth world it seems that fake news is believed by many people to be anything they disagree with.

The President of the United States is at it:

That was a fake Tweet Mr President….

Should we be worried about fake news? It is too soon to tell really. What is worrying is the the ability of people with sinister motives, backed by money (and possibly by foreign powers) being able to shape the public conscience.

Fake news, we have all read some online. Most is easy to spot, with wild exaggerations and conspiracies – obvious for being such. But what happens when an online news source is deemed by thousands to be more informative and honest than the Mainstream Media? When editors of said news site have links to the President Elect?

Obviously it is Breitbart we are talking about here; the fascists’ – sorry, that was not very politically correct – Alt Right, Nationalists (as Fascists like to call themselves these days) rag of choice.

Breitbart has aligned itself with the European populist right and American alt-right under the management of former executive chairman Steven K. Bannon (pictured above with Trump). The New York Times describes Breitbart News as an organization with “ideologically driven journalists”, that is a source of controversy “over material that has been called misogynist, xenophobic and racist”. Steven Bannon himself still faces accusations of racism, anti-semitism and having white supremacist leanings. Some are even going so far as to state that Bannon has become the ‘Voice of Racism‘ within Trump’s cabinet.

The fact that the soon-to-be POTUS Trump has invited Bannon and the ‘Alt Right’ into the Whitehouse, and indeed actually given them important positions, is cause for concern enough. But even more worrying is that many political commentators believe that Breitbart, which has actively sought support from white supremacists, actually helped with Donald Trump’s election victory. The media influencing elections is nothing new.

But the danger posed by Breitbart goes further than even the manipulation we have seen from Murdoch’s news empire.

Which was quickly picked up by other far right sites and pages and shared many thousands of times on social media.

This is pretty frightening stuff, a church in Germany set alight and the police attacked by over 1000 Muslims…except none of it is actually true.

The article was attributed to German news site Ruhr Nachrichten, which hit back on Wednesday, accusing Breitbart of “using our online reports for fake news, hate and propaganda.” As Ruhr Nachrichten pointed out, Breitbart attributed separate unconnected incidents to a larger, collective “mob”.

“There was in fact a total of around 1,000 people gathered to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Leeds Square, including “large and small groups” of young, foreign men as well as families with children, according to Ruhr Nachrichten. The original report by the local news site from that night describes how some individuals did start launching fireworks from within the crowd towards police, who told them to stop but were ignored. Broadcaster WDR reported that officers then issued orders for some people to leave and took some into custody. While Breitbart wrote that the “mob” set the roof of Germany’s oldest church on fire, Ruhr Nachrichten pointed out that this was also not accurate. St. Reinold is not Germany’s oldest church – that would be the Cathedral of Trier – and a small fire had started on some netting on scaffolding around the church, not the roof, due to one firework.” – Read More

Exaggerations and lies; the stock in-trade of demagogues and propagandists throughout history. Even though the true facts behind the article have surfaced, the damage has already been done. The majority of people who read it will not bother to fact check and a great many, even when shown the truth, will believe it to be Governments trying to cover up the truth: that the fake news is real and the real news is fake.

What can be done about the proliferation of fake news? Germany is proposing to fine social media companies if they do not remove fake news articles. Is censorship the way forward? Although ‘fake news’ is generally viewed as a problematic issue which needs to be dealt with, the more liberty-minded have cautioned vociferously that even light censorship of ideas will cascade into widespread editing of thought. But can fake news be allowed to continue to shape the public conscience? Anyone who spends even a small amount of time on social media will witness comment after comment by people who have obviously bought into the lies and spin of the far right. Whereas in the past people would struggle to find like minded individuals in which to share and validate their views, social media has made it simple for them to get together in groups and on pages. The far right are on the rise throughout the world: Trump in the USA; Orban in Hungary; LePenn in France; the AFD in Germany; Wilders in the Netherlands; Da’esh; Putin, the list goes on and on. Just how much of this rise can be attributed to fake news and its proliferation on social media is a debate for another day. But never forget this.

We woke up this morning to another Daily Fail, anti Foreign Aid headline:

OUTRAGE!

Where to start with this one? Okay, this is the actual scheme: “Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) was launched in July 2008 with an immediate objective of consumption smoothening and cushioning the negative effects of slow economic growth, the food crisis and inflation on the poor, particularly women, through the provision of cash transfers of Rs. 1,000/month to eligible families. Its long term objectives include supporting the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to eradicate extreme and chronic poverty, to empower of women and to achieve universal primary education. The monthly installment was enhanced to Rs. 1200/- per month w.e.f 1st July, 2013 by the present government and has now been fixed at Rs. 1500/-per month w.e.f 1st July, 2014.”

How very dare they?

This project was initiated for poverty alleviation and women empowerment among the socially and economically marginalized sections of Pakistan. Due to the international financial, fuel and food crisis, Pakistan witnessed escalating inflation over the past few years. In addition, Pakistan’s economic problems were exacerbated due to the global war on terror and consecutive natural disasters in 2010 and 2011. This has created a domino effect on Pakistani production sector and population’s ability to sustain. The number of people living below the poverty line is significant and more vulnerable households are at the risk of falling below the poverty line.

Women are specifically adversely affected by chronic poverty as six out of ten of the world’s poorest people are women who must, as the primary family caretakers and producers of food, shoulder the burden of tilling land, grinding grain, carrying water and cooking.

And what does this aid do?

It identifies 7.7 million households who are living below poverty cut-off score of 16.17

It creates a large and reliable national registry of the socio-economic status of around 27 million households across Pakistan

It uses GPS to map the data of the entire country for informed decision making (for example, to respond to natural disasters and other emergencies)

Putting the fact that this scheme, which has been running for over 8 years, is helping the poorest and most vulnerable aside, these are the key points with regard to the UK contributions:

The cards give the poorest families £10 a month, and the uk contribution to the scheme is around 5%

Cash transfers worldwide equate to 2% of the UK’s overall foreign aid budget. They are used through existing schemes such as this one to reach people in need directly with lower overheads and less risk of fraud.

The UN set a target figure of 0.7% of GDP for foreign aid. The UK increased its budget to stay in line with this. Sweden contributes double its GDP annually.

Total UK spend over 8 years for the BISP scheme will be £300 million. – no idea where the Mail gets the £1 Billion figure from, seems to only relate to the increase in the Foreign Aid Budget.

But according to the Daily Mail, it is ALL British Taxpayers monies, it just funds scroungers, and Muslims at that, how very dare the scheme try and lift families from absolute poverty? How dare it save lives? And the Pakistani Govt is aware of the fraud allegations and trying methods to combat it. Still, it was handy hate clickbait for the Mail whose 2017 mission seems to be to try and end all foreign aid. #NeverBuyTheMail

Perennial annoyance and fascist demagogue Hatey Hopkins has found herself in hot water over a Daily Mail article she wrote. The courts ruled against her and the Daily Heil and ordered them to pay ‘Substantial Damages’. They tried to release the apology at 2am to hide it. Be a really shame if it got shared about more.

When discussing the election of Donald J Trump as President-elect of the United States, a lot has been made of the “fake news” phenomenon. OneBuzzFeed story in particular, featuring a cottage industry of pro-Trump websites in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia — coincidentally, the same country Melania Trump was born in — was cited by Barack Obama.

In this era of hyped-up McCarthyist accusations, it’s important to realise that the issue here does not just relate to America’s former adversaries. The Patriot News Agency — which arose in July this year, soon after it became obvious Trump would win the Republican nomination — is one such example. Whilst the New York Timesnotes that many foreign conservative outlets (such as the aforementioned Macedonian sites) have been set up to cash in on the Trump phenomenon, Patriot News had another objective: To get Donald J. Trump to be the next President of the United States.

The organisation is headed by Jim Dowson, described by The Times as an “inveterate agitator” and “the invisible man of Britain’s far right”. Dowson, an anti-abortion activist in Northern Ireland who helped set up the far-right Britain First political organisation. Britain First is such a far-right organisation that following the assassination of Labour MP Jo Cox, some in Parliament have called for the group’s proscription under the Terrorism Act 2000. Dowson himself advocated Britain’s exit from the EU and has expressed admiration for the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, speaking at a conference for far-right political leaders in Russia heralding Putin’s defence of traditional western values. This is presumably due to Russia’s stance on gay rights — Dowson set up his own organisation (the Parent Truth Campaign) opposing sex education and gay rights in 2001.

Dowson made it his mission, according to messages posted on one of his sites, to “spread devastating anti-Clinton, pro-Trump memes and sound bites into sections of the population too disillusioned with politics to have taken any notice of conventional campaigning,” in the same way that Dowson “made deft use of social media … to promote [his] work and convey an impression of mass following”, according to the New York Times

The fact that a pro-Trump Britain First activist has managed to create a viral conservative news website should be a wake-up call to liberals in the United States. The seeds of “post-truth” politics already existed beforehand, but the voices promoting them were dismissed as marginal, ringe and insignificant. It is imperative that activists within the United States stop squabbling among themselves and think of a populist counter-message to this extreme xenophobic nationalism which seems to be permeating online at the moment. Politics as usual is over, period.

Dowson, founder of the Britain First group, has made a series of videos begging supporters to send donations to help arm the ragtag militia. The Scottish Daily Record reports Dowson claims the Turkey-Bulgaria border is the key strategic point to be defended from refugee “invaders” who he claims are seeking to take over the world.

He has also appeared on Russian TV, backing the sinister anti-Islam Knights Templar International group and whipping up support for far-right groups in Hungary and other eastern states.

Dowson, from Airdrie, boasts of donating bulletproof vests, night vision goggles, drones and other supplies to the thugs and asks US supporters to sign up or send money.

In the sickening footage, Dowson whispers to the camera: “We are on the Bulgarian Turkish border on patrol and looking for illegals. The dedication these guys have got is very impressive.

“The borders of Europe are being protected more by these men than our governments.

“Today, the Knights Templar International brought along vests and ballistics and drones and night vision, stuff that these guys desperately need.

“A big thank you to supporters in America and the Philippines and other countries who have contributed to this.

“These are men and women, mainly ex-forces, doing it in their own free time, facing all sorts of risks and dangers.

“These are good people and they’re very very deserving of your support.”

On another video, Dowson tells the Bulgarian thugs: “When my grandfather was alive, this land was ruled by Ottomans, by the Muslims.

“Now they’re coming back. Remember the forces of Islam once got as far as Vienna.

Dowson claimed the group are engaged in a “fight of Christ”

“Now they are as far as John O’Groats in Scotland and more and more are coming in.

“This is not political, this is a fight between good and evil, black and white, a fight of the cross, a fight of Christ.

“If you can, please come train with these people, help them. If you’re too old or can’t leave your job, send them some money.

“Get them organised, help them, supply them, meet their needs because they’re guarding your border, my border, the whole of the free western world’s border, even America’s border. The fight is here.”

Dowson formed racist political group Britain First and was closely associated with mosque invasions across the UK where thugs forced their way into the places of worship and confronted imams.

He has also been a key fundraiser for other groups like the BNP.

Earlier this year, Dowson and former BNP supremo Nick Griffin travelled to St Petersburg in Russia for a rally of far-right groups.

Dowson also appeared at the Knights Templar International Hungarian Border Mission as a delegate and staged meetings with banned Hungarian neo-Nazi group Magyar Önvédelmi Mozgalom.

A spokesman for anti-racist group Say No To Hate said: “Dowson and Griffin are clearly up to something.

“They are spending a lot of time in eastern Europe, presenting themselves as viable voices.

“They are simply churning out the same messages of intolerance that they did back in the UK.

“Dowson is appealing to Americans for donations to supply a militia group in Bulgaria, which seems quite alarming.

“They are running around the woods at the Turkish border with rifles, determined to round up refugees. It’s a dreadful proposition. I would urge anyone in the UK or further afield to have nothing to do with them.”

Dowson was recently named in a dossier leaked to the Record detailing the most dangerous extremists.

Dowson is active in Loyalist circles and helped launch the Protestant Coalition, who have links to Britain First. He is also an ex-Calvinist minister and anti-abortionist and set up a BNP call centre in Northern Ireland.

The Daily Record contacted Dowson to ask him about the videos and his support for the Shipka Bulgarian Movement.

He said: “The only time I have ever spoken to the Record you have done nothing but a hatchet job so you’re going to write whatever you’re going to write. You don’t really need a comment from me.”

When our reporter stressed that Dowson had been approached to give him an opportunity to comment, he replied: “Aye right. Okay. Nae bother. Listen, have a nice day my friend.”

The Shipka Bulgarian National Movement claim to be “at war” with Muslim immigrants coming into the country from Turkey.